


sweet treats and little things

by kaisutama



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Attempt at humour, Baking, Baking Sweets, Christmas Cookies, Christmas Fluff, Cookies, Cutesy, Fluff and Humor, Garreg Mach Ball (Fire Emblem), M/M, Mentioned Blue Lions Students (Fire Emblem), Secret Santa, Short & Sweet, baking mishaps, kind of platonic?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-24
Updated: 2020-12-24
Packaged: 2021-03-10 23:35:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,509
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28295409
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kaisutama/pseuds/kaisutama
Summary: Felix has never baked before, not once in his life. Sylvain, who isn't the best either, lends him a hand... sort of.
Relationships: Felix Hugo Fraldarius/Sylvain Jose Gautier
Comments: 6
Kudos: 16





	sweet treats and little things

Sylvain never really was a skilled cook - leave that for Mercedes or Dedue. He was able to make small things for himself in a hurry, but for the most part he relied on the dining hall's menu, or if the Professor asked him for help with kitchen duty. Whatever his situation, he wasn't the best with cooking. Baking was a completely different story, however.

He didn't really like sweets as much as Annette, but he wasn't into bitter flavours that Hubert enjoyed. Sylvain was more in the middle with his preferences. Just as long as he was sharing a meal with a cute girl (or two), it didn't really matter what he ate. His company was more delectable than the meal on his plate, he'd say to the Professor in a jest.

Today was Christmas Eve, and so there were no classes scheduled for the day. A grand feast was on the schedule, however, which caused a lot of excitement among the students. It was rare for the monastery to schedule festivities other than the occasional special meal or choir festival. Sylvain wasn't into choir, and some of the meals weren't exactly his favourite.

According to Annette, Felix was supposed to help prepare the sweets. Her expression and voice lingered with disappointment, as if she was denied the task. Sylvain imagined Felix baking with a cute little "Kiss the Chef" apron and a ridiculous puffy hat. It was a comedic visual - but not something Sylvain would expect Felix to wear.

He figured that if his best friend was busy in the kitchen, preparing for a feast that he wouldn't even want to participate in, Sylvain could maybe give him some company, or at least lend him a hand. Sylvain made his way over to the kitchen area of the dining hall, leaning over the counter.

"Felix, you're hard at work." Felix ignored Sylvain and flipped the page of his recipe book. He sighed and slammed the book shut, turning to glare daggers.

"What do you want, Sylvain?"

Sylvain blinked a few times. Felix appeared flustered, a bit shaken up even. His face was crimson, his hair tied in a messy bun and he looked _exhausted_. How long was Felix here, Sylvain wondered.

"I was just checking on you," Sylvain admitted almost as if he'd been defeated by one of the girls he'd chase after. "Why did the Professor assign you for baking duty?"

"He said I needed _experience_ ," Felix spat, turning so his back faced Sylvain. "It's ridiculous, and a total waste of my time. And you're not helping, either."

Sylvain pursed his lips to the side. Felix was right - he wasn't helping by asking his friend 20 questions. He stood up from his spot on the stool and walked around the counter, peering over Felix's shoulder. "First of all, what are you trying to bake? I'm not a great baker but I know some - "

 _"Cookies,"_ Felix disrupted.

"Oh, that's easy," Sylvain perked up. "I can definitely lend you a hand with cookies. Mercedes taught me some time ago. Anyways, do you have the ingredients ready?"

"That's the thing," Felix replied. "I don't know what's required. This stupid book won't answer any questions."

Sylvain grabbed the book from the table and flipped through the pages. He laughed to himself, setting the book back down. "That's because you picked up a muffin recipe book, genius."

"Yeah, they're all the same." Felix crossed his arms, glaring away from Sylvain. "I don't care about this stupid festival, so why does it matter?"

"Maybe because the other students care. They and the Professor are relying on you to give them a good time."

"It's not my responsibility if they get food poisoning," Felix sneered. "I don't have time for this stupid task, and I _especially_ don't have time to deal with a bunch of rowdy animals."

"But here you are," Sylvain gestured to the kitchen area. "Come on, let me help you out. I memorised a really good cookie recipe Mercedes taught me a while back. Wanna give it a go?"

"If it makes the job quicker."

Sylvain picked the book up and moved it back to the shelf across the kitchen area. He made his way back over to Felix and opened the ice box, digging through some of the raw ingredients. He picked out some eggs and butter, placing them on the counter. Closing the ice box, he reached over for some baking powder, salt, sugar and flour.

"This looks complex," Felix drowned.

"It might look a little intimidating at first," Sylvain admitted with a chuckle. "But trust me when I say this is easier than asking a girl her name. Do me a favour and grab a bowl."

Felix obliged and went to search for a bowl, rummaging through the cabinets and the Lazy Susan. He found a bowl, small enough to fit in the palm of his hand. Having no idea what size was required, Felix placed the bowl on the counter.

Sylvain tutted playfully. "No, that's not it, Felix."

"You said to get a damn bowl, so here you go."

"I meant a mixing bowl," Sylvain rolled his eyes with a smile. Felix grunted and grabbed the bowl, shoving it back into the Lazy Susan. He found a much larger one, setting it down on the counter.

"Is _this_ better?"

Sylvain turned and nodded. "Yeah, that's better. Can you get me a wooden spoon, too?"

Felix searched through the drawers, picking up a wooden spoon. He placed it down on the counter, waiting quietly for Sylvain's instructions. _Why the hell is this so tedious?_ Felix thought. _This is almost as delicate as crafting a brand new sword._

"I just need measuring spoons and a few cups, and then we're ready to begin," Sylvain smiled and browsed the kitchen area, grabbing the grocery list of what he needed - cups and _more_ spoons. He placed everything down with a smile.

"So, what happens next?" Felix asked.

"Well, we start making the cookies," Sylvain laughed. "They don't magically appear, you know."

Felix stared at the supplies on the counter in disbelief. How in the world was this supposed to work? Felix was taught how to wield a sword before he learnt how to read - this was foreign to him, all completely new and _very_ overwhelming; He didn't know how to start. _Where_ to start.

"First, we just need to mix the dry ingredients," Sylvain explained as he picked up a bag of flour, showing it off to Felix.

Felix took the bag and dumped most of the flour in the bowl, making a sudden mess. "Felix, that's not..." Sylvain started.

"I _just_ want to get this _done_ ," Felix snapped.

Sylvain watched quietly as Felix dumped more ingredients in the same bowl, the bowl nearly overflowing with flour, baking soda and sugar. Felix grabbed the wooden spoon and mixed the dry ingredients together, before he felt a hand grip his wrist.

"You're supposed to add the wet ingredients, too."

"How should I know?"

"Well, you're sort of jumping ahead. Here, let me help," Sylvain reached for an egg in the carton, cracking it on the side of the bowl. He dumped the yolk into the bowl, throwing the shell into the nearby garbage. "There you go."

Felix grunted and continued mixing the ingredients, realising it was starting to become more moist and sticky. It was a struggle to mix all of the ingredients together, almost a bit of arm exercise. This wasn't the most terrible part, Felix realised.

"How does this look?" He asked, stepping aside for Sylvain to have a look.

"Looks good!" Sylvain smiled as he reached into the cupboard, taking out a cookie sheet. "Okay, next up is to scoop all the dough out and mush them into balls."

"Wait, I have to _touch_ this stuff?" Felix snapped.

"Felix, you've had to wash blood from your body before so this is _nothing_ compared to what you're used to," Sylvain explained. "It's not so hard. Just grab a spoon and scoop a bit of the dough out, roll it into a ball and place it on the tray. Easy!"

Felix carefully listened to Sylvain's instructions, scooping a large amount of dough into a spoon, touching the dough hesitantly. He grimaced a little as he dumped the clumsy ball onto the tray. "There. I've finished."

"No, you didn't," Sylvain laughed. "We have to put _all_ of them on the tray, and then put the tray into the oven."

Felix groaned as he continued scooping more of the dough out, plopping the raw ingredients onto the tray. Each dough ball was larger than the prior, placed in completely random spots on the cookie sheet. Sylvain watched in curiosity.

Felix opened the oven and slid the tray inside, closing it shut. "What next?"

"We have to turn the oven on," Sylvain replied. He reached to turn the oven on, preheating it.

"How long will this take?"

"About 12 minutes. What would you like to do until then?" Sylvain glanced around the kitchen, realising that... it was a mess. Not too bad, but it wouldn't be a good idea leaving all of their tools laying around for the cooks or the next student to clean up after.

"I'd like to train," Felix muttered.

"You do realise the training grounds are _really_ far away, and I don't think it's a good idea to leave a running oven alone," Sylvain replied. "How about we sit down and catch up? Are you excited about the ball tonight?"

"No."

Sylvain shrugged and started to clean the kitchen, reaching for a wet rag to wipe the counter down. Felix, deciding to pitch in, placed the dirty spoons and bowls into the basin.

The two spent the rest of the time talking, with Sylvain having a one-sided discussion. Felix barely listened, anxiously glancing back and forth between the floor and the oven.

"So," Sylvain broke the minute long silence.

"So?" Echoed Felix.

"Would you like to maybe hang out during the ball? We don't have to be in the crowd or near girls or anything."

Sylvain expected Felix to harshly decline, maybe even call him a fool for simply _offering_ to hang out. However, his answer caught Sylvain off-guard.

"I don't mind, as long as we get away from there."

The answer circled Sylvain's mind like a shark in the ocean. It was incredibly rare for Felix to accept any kind of offer, even if it was from the Professor. Sylvain, taken back, replied with a smile, "That's great! We could just hang out near the training grounds if you wanted. Not like anyone else will be there."

"So you're interested in a late night duel, then?" Felix inquired.

"I mean, maybe?" Sylvain answered with some hesitation. "I'm not into training like you are, but since we're here-"

The oven dinged, causing Felix to nearly jump out of his seat. "What the hell is that?!"

"That's the oven," Sylvain replied cooly. "It means the cookies are done." He stood up from his seat and walked around the counter, Felix trailing behind him.

Felix opened the oven and immediately reached in to grab for the hot tray, only to burn his hand in the process. "You bastard!"

"Felix," Sylvain laughed. "You're supposed to grab an oven mitt first."

"You could've told me that earlier!"

"Isn't it common sense enough? Then again, you never baked in your life." Sylvain grabbed for an oven mitt in a nearby drawer, placing it over his hand before reaching into the hot oven. He placed the cookies on top of the stove.

"Those... don't look like cookies at all," Sylvain muttered softly. The cookies were not round but square, flat and sticky, almost as if the two had baked a very flat brownie rather than biscuits. Closing the oven and putting the mitt away, Sylvain waited for the "cookies" to cool down. He then suggested, "How about we ask Mercedes for help next time?"

"We could've done that from the very start."

* * *

Later that evening, the reception hall was full of students from each of the academy's houses, Felix being among the crowd. Clearly uncomfortable with the large crowd, Felix slipped from the reception hall and hurried to the training grounds to find some solace. Closing the large doors of the training grounds behind him, Felix sighed and leaned back, barely able to catch his breath. So many damn girls were trying to ask him to dance, which he harshly declined.

"Unusual for you to be late," a soft voice called from nearby. From what little light there was in the area, Felix could barely make out who stood near him, but he recognised the voice. 

"I could barely breathe in there," Felix grunted. Sylvain laughed as well. 

"Yeah, you and me both. So, did anyone like your cookies?" He walked over to a rack of training weapons, pulling out a training lance. He twirled it in his hands as if a baton, waiting for Felix to answer.

Once he was able to catch his breath, Felix replied, "I wouldn't know. I mean, someone said they were burnt or something."

"Whoops," Sylvain chuckled. "Hey, it happens. At least we did our best, right?"

"Yeah, sure," Felix walked over to the racks and searched for a training sword. He turned around, standing in a fighting position. "How about that promise, that we can spar?"

"Fine, but don't expect me to keep up. I'm exhausted from those girls trying to ask me for a dance."

"That doesn't sound like you at all," Felix attempted to strike Sylvain with his sword, only for Sylvain's lance to block it. "Normally, you're chasing skirts."

"I know, but a guy needs a break every now and then to hang out with his best friend," Sylvain smiled as he shoved Felix lightly with his lance. "I really enjoyed baking with you. Even if it sucked."

After a few more minutes of colliding their weapons, Sylvain called for a break. 

"I have a stupid question," Felix muttered after a moment of silence. Sylvain glanced over towards his friend. Felix continued, "Do you think you could help me bake next time? I know it's pointless, but I think you helped a lot."

"I don't mind," Sylvain grinned. "Besides, if it weren't for me guiding you, the entire dining hall would've exploded!"

 _You have a point,_ Felix wanted to say but kept quiet. 

The rest of the night was still and peaceful for a change. Felix hated to admit, but baking with Sylvain (or, at least _trying_ to bake) was really enjoyable. Felix wasn't used to working in the kitchen area, _especially_ when sweets were involved. Maybe the next time there was a ball or some kind of event and Felix was required to bake, he'd ask Sylvain. Maybe they could spend more time like this off the training grounds. A really unrealistic thought, but what could Felix say? 

At least Sylvain saved the dining hall from an unnecessary explosion - so, really, everyone could live happily. 


End file.
